These two bodies are essentially the same thing called by two different terms. To confuse the issue further it is also called the Karana-Sarira. This latter phrase comes from the Sanskrit. "Karana" means "cause" and "Sarira" refers to body or bodily frame.
It is also called the Causal Body because it makes possible for the human being to initiate causes.
Finally it is called the Egoic Body because it is the vehicle of expression for our ego. This is not the illusionary, selfish ego as indicated in some teachings, but the highest part of our individuality, which eternally survives.
It's body is the twelve petalled lotus, the higher reflection of the heart center which is in the head and links the heart to the soul and the soul to the monad.
Just as the physical body is the vehicle to house and allow life expression, even so is the causal body a vehicle of consciousness itself. This vehicle was given birth to you by your Solar Angel and as it unfolds consciousness grows and soul contact is established.
When contact and expression is fully created the causal body is no longer needed and we break free from the parent Solar Angel and become linked directly to our Monad, or our personal Father in Heaven.
Definition by J J Dewey. Read over 4000 teachings at Freeread.com
Here are some additional references to the Causal Body:
From a study of these terms it will be apparent that within the physical vehicle there is to be found a point of luminosity which (when contacted) will pour the light of the spirit upon the path of the disciple, thus illuminating the way, revealing the solution of all problems, and enabling him to stand as a light bearer to others.
This light is in the nature of an internal radiance, its position is in the head, in the neighborhood of the pineal gland, and it is produced by the activity of the soul.
A good deal of discussion has been aroused, by the term "central organ" associated with this light. Some commentators refer this to the heart, others to the head. Technically neither of them are entirely right, for to the trained adept the "central organ" is the causal vehicle, the karana sarira, the body of the ego, the sheath of the soul. This is the middle of the "three periodical vehicles" which the divine Son of God discovers and utilizes in the course of his long pilgrimage.
The Light of the Soul, Page 292
If the karmic seeds are black, the man will be grossly selfish, material, and inclined to the left hand path; if black-white, they will carry him into a form suitable for the working out of his obligations, of his debts, duties and interests and the fulfilling of his desires; if they are white they tend to build that body which is the final one to be destroyed, the causal body, the temple of Solomon, the karana sarira of the occultist. That body, at the final liberation, is itself destroyed and naught then separates the man from his Father in Heaven, and nothing keeps him linked to the lower material plane.
The Light of the Soul, Pages 393-394
(a.) The Work of the Solar Angels. Let us briefly consider the general construction of the body of the Ego enumerating its component parts and bearing in mind that the form is ever prepared prior to occupancy. From the study of this body, we can get some idea of, and some light upon macrocosmic Individualisation.
The causal body, called sometimes (though inaccurately) the "karana sarira," has its place on the third subplane of the mental plane, the lowest abstract plane, and the one whereon the Ray of the third Logos provides the necessary "light for construction. "
Treatise on Cosmic Fire Page 707
There is the radiant body of the soul itself, found on its own plane, and called, frequently, the Karana Sarira or the causal body.
Treatise on Cosmic Fire Page 105
For the advanced disciple and the initiate, the midway spot is the causal body, the karana sarira, the spiritual body of the soul, standing as the intermediary between Spirit and matter, Life and form, the monad and the personality.
Treatise on Cosmic Fire Page 247
Hence it is the mind principle in humanity which brings into manifestation the egoic body, the causal vehicle, the karana sarira, the twelve-petalled lotus. We are of course talking entirely in terms of the form aspect here. The reason for this lies back on the cosmic planes, whereon the planetary Logos has His life.
Treatise on White Magic Page 362
(a.) The Work of the Solar Angels. Let us briefly consider the general construction of the body of the Ego enumerating its component parts and bearing in mind that the form is ever prepared prior to occupancy. From the study of this body, we can get some idea of, and some light upon macrocosmic Individualisation.
The human Ego is neither Atman nor Buddhi, but the higher Manas: the intellectual fruition and the efflorescence of the intellectual self-conscious Egotism -- in the higher spiritual sense. The ancient works refer to it as Karana Sarira on the plane of Sutratma, which is the golden thread on which, like beads, the various personalities of this higher Ego are strung. If the reader were told, as in the semi-esoteric allegories, that these Beings were returning Nirvanees, from preceding Maha-Manvantaras -- ages of incalculable duration which have rolled away in the Eternity, a still more incalculable time ago -- he would hardly understand the text correctly; while some Vedantins might say: "This is not so; the Nirvanee can never return"; which is true during the Manvantara he belongs to, and erroneous where Eternity is concerned. For it is said in the Sacred Slokas:
Secret Doctrine Vol 2 Pages 79-80
By life upon the physical plane (that life wherein the physical permanent atom has its full demonstration) the matter is arranged and separated that must eventually be built into the Temple of Solomon, the egoic body, through the agency of the egoic life, the second aspect. In the quarry of the personal life are the stones prepared for the great Temple. In existence upon the physical plane and in the objective personal life is that experience gained which demonstrates as faculty in the Ego.
A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, P 72
On the fourth subplane of the mental plane, man begins to control his causal or egoic body, and to polarize his consciousness therein until the polarization is complete. He functions then consciously on it when he has mastered the correspondences to the ethers on the mental plane.
A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, P 120
The egoic triangles are dependent largely upon the reflection in the personality of the spiritual life force. They are the midway point, just as the causal or egoic body is the transmitting point (when sufficiently equipped and built) between the higher and the lower.
A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, P 178
Finally, that the Son, therefore, is the middle manifestation, and is produced by that which is above, and that which is below, in the occult sense. Therefore, the Son on His own plane (the cosmic mental plane), is the egoic body of the Logos in the same sense as the egoic body of the microcosm is the product of the union of the Monad, or Spirit, and matter. Just as the body egoic of man (that which is called the causal body) is only in process of formation, and is not yet perfected, so we may predicate the same of the solar system, as it expresses the Life of God.
A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, P 227
In studying the egoic body it should be remembered that the causal body is the correspondence in the monadic manifestation to the heart center.
A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, P 537
If we have carefully followed the data given about the egoic manifestation on its own plane, and the fires of the causal body, we shall have noted the close resemblance between that egoic body, viewed as a force center, and certain aspects of logoic manifestation.
A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, P 544
In the third chain, the moon chain, we have an interesting related fact. On the moon chain the point of attainment for the individual was the arhat or fourth Initiation, - the initiation which marks the final breaking with the three worlds, and the disintegration of the egoic body.
A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, P 581
The occult Hierarchy is concerned with the unfoldment of the nine-petalled Lotus in the Heavenly Man, and in man (the former through reflex action between the cosmic physical and the cosmic mental), while the great deva Hierarchy is concerned with the permanent atoms, with the egoic body, and with the development of the spirillae. Thus the function of the Agnichaitans of the lowest furnaces - macrocosmically and microcosmically - will be seen and comprehended by the wise student.
A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, P 643
The work of the Agnishvattas (the self-conscious principles, the Builders or constructors of the egoic body on the higher mental levels) is to unite the higher three principles - atma, buddhi, manas - and the lower three, and thus become in very truth the middle principle in man.
A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, P 680
Man has to learn to control, guide and use the deva substances of which his lower sheaths are made; this goal involves the development of full self-consciousness, which is brought about through the agency of the solar Angels or builders and vitalizers of the egoic body; they are those through whom self-consciousness becomes a fact.
A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, P 688
On extra-systemic or cosmic levels, the individualization process produces a corresponding activity in the egoic body of the Logos, and hence increased vibration in that center in the body of the ONE ABOUT WHOM NOUGHT MAY BE SAID, which our Logos represents.
A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, P 718
The physical permanent atom absorbs the entire life force of the physical body, and its inherent heat and light is thereby increased until at the fourth initiation the seven spirillae are fully vitalized, and vibrant. The internal heat of the atom, plus the external heat of the egoic body wherein it has its place, produces then that which destroys the permanent atom. Temporarily, and just prior to destruction, it becomes a tiny sevenfold sun owing to the radiation and activity of the spirillae.
A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, P 741
At the early stages after individualization, the egoic body has the appearance of a bud. The electric fire at the center is not apparent, and all the nine petals are closed down upon the inner three; the orange color has a dead aspect and the three points of light at the base are just points and nothing more; the triangle which is later seen connecting the points is not demonstrated.
A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, P 763
Building into the causal body that which is required for its completion.
In the early stages this work is comparatively small but as the third stage of development is reached, and the man is demonstrating character and ability, their work is rapidly increased, and they are kept fully occupied in the work of perfecting the egoic body, in expanding the egoic consciousness, if metaphysical terms are preferred.
A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, P 776
Before the final liberation but after the major part of the purificatory and aligning processes are complete, the vehicles of the initiate present a wonderful appearance, due to the streams of energy from the egoic body which can reach him.
A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, P 1121
Between the triple energy of the spinal column and the alta major center, there is a hiatus, just as there exists that which must be bridged between the triple lower man and the egoic body, or between the mental unit on the fourth subplane of the mental plane and the solar Angel on the third subplane. Though we are told that the permanent atomic triad is enclosed in the causal periphery, nevertheless, from the standpoint of consciousness there is that which must be bridged.
A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, P 1159
I would remind you also that from the angle of the fourth initiation even the egoic vehicle, the soul body, is regarded and treated as a part of the form nature.
Esoteric Healing, P 689
...at the third initiation one of these Kumaras transmits to the causal body of the initiate that energy which destroys third subplane matter, and thus brings about part of the destruction of the vehicle; at the fourth initiation another Buddha transmits second plane force, and at the fifth, first subplane force is similarly passed into the remaining atoms of the causal vehicle, producing the final liberation. The work done by the second Kumara, with second subplane force, is in this solar system the most important in connection with the egoic body, and produces its complete dissipation, whereas the final application causes the atoms themselves (which formed that body) to disperse.
Initiation, Human and Solar, P 108
Upon the Causal or Egoic Body
It is only possible to touch very briefly upon the effect of the application of the Rod to the causal body of the initiate.
[...]
Through the application of the Rod of Initiation, the work of separating the spiritual self from the higher self is furthered, and the imprisoned life gradually escapes, whilst the causal body is slowly absorbed or dissipated.
This has led to the expression, sometimes used in occult books, of "the cracking of the causal body" at each initiation, and to the idea of the inner central fire gradually breaking through and destroying the confining walls, and also of the destruction of the Temple of Solomon through the withdrawal of the Shekinah. All these phrases are symbolic wordings, and are attempts to convey to the mind of man fundamental truth from different angles.
Initiation, Human and Solar, P 136
It is interesting to note that just as the Monad, impelled by desire, produces that form of life which we call the personality, so the mind aspect, as part of the purpose working out through the Universal Mind, in its turn produces that manifestation which we call a Manasaputra, the great Son of Mind on the mental plane. Hence it is the mind principle in humanity which brings into manifestation the egoic body, the causal vehicle, the karana sarira, the twelve-petalled lotus.
A Treatise on White Magic, P 361
When this has happened, the disciple has built the bridge (the antahkarana) which links:
The spiritual triad.
The causal body.
The personality.
When this is done the egoic body has served its purpose, the solar Angel has done its work, and the form side of existence is no longer needed, as we understand and utilize it, as a medium of experience. The man enters into the consciousness of the Monad, the ONE. The causal body [388] disintegrates; the personality fades out, and illusion is ended. This is the consummation of the Great Work, and another Son of God has entered into the Father's home.
A Treatise on White Magic, P 387
When the alignment is fourfold and when the three above mentioned bodies are aligned with the body of the Higher Self, the causal or egoic body, and held steady within its circumference, then the great leaders of the race, - those who emotionally and intellectually sway mankind, - can be seen working; then the inspirational writers and dreamers can bring down their inspirations and dreams; and then the synthetic and abstract thinkers can transfer their conceptions to the world of form.
Letters on Occult Meditation, P 1
We have up till now considered first the importance of meditation; then we touched briefly upon the part the egoic ray plays in deciding upon that method, incidentally bringing out a point not much emphasized hitherto that the real goal of meditation is the gradual fracturing, breaking and shattering of the egoic body.
[...]
Karma and time are more synonymous terms than is oft realized. Occult meditation and the definite commencement of the work of liberating the individual from the periphery of the causal body can only be begun when a certain point in evolution has been attained, and when (through its content) the causal body is of a certain specific gravity, and when the circumference of that body measures up to certain requirements.
Letters on Occult Meditation, P 22
In the microcosm, man, this duality becomes a triple modification upon the mental plane, and in these three we have in miniature a picture of the macrocosmic manifestation. These three are:
The mental permanent atom, the lowest aspect of the spiritual Triad or of the soul,
The egoic body, the causal body, or the karana sarira,
The mental body, the highest aspect of the lower personal self.
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali , P 14
...the seven principles with which man is concerned are:
1. Prana
vital energy
etheric body
physical plane.
2. Kama
desire
astral body
astral plane.
3. Lower Manas
concrete mind
mental body
mental plane.
4. Higher Manas
abstract mind
egoic body
mental plane
5. Buddhi
intuition
buddhic body
buddhic plane.
6. Atma
spiritual will
atmic body
atmic plane.
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali , P 73
But to build the antahkarana is to relate the three divine aspects. This involves intense mental activity; it necessitates the power to imagine and to visualize, plus a dramatic attempt to build the Lighted Way in mental substance. This mental substance is - as we have seen - of three qualities or natures, and the bridge of living light is a composite creation, having in it:
Force, focused and projected from the fused and blended forces of the personality.
Energy, drawn from the egoic body by, a conscious effort.
Energy, abstracted from the Spiritual Triad.
The Rays and the Initiations, P 457
This brings to the forefront of his consciousness the sudden and appalling recognition that the soul itself, the egoic body on its own level, and that which for ages has been the supposed source of his existence and his guide and mentor, is no longer needed; his relation, as a soul-infused personality, is now directly with the Monad. He feels bereft and is apt to cry out - as did the Master Jesus - "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?"
The Rays and the Initiations, P 695
Just as in the human atom, the spiral activity is egoic and controlled from the egoic body, so in connection with the solar system these three groups are related to the Logoic Spiritual Triad - atma-buddhi-manas - and their influence is dominant in connection with solar incarnation, with solar evolution and with solar progress." (C.F. 1058)
Esoteric Astrology, P 639
The ray of the ego varies from round to round, and, in more evolved souls, from race to race, and comprises one of the five rays of our present evolution. It is the predominating ray to which a man's causal body vibrates.
A Treatise on White Magic, P 111
You ask for a clearer definition of the midway spot.
For the probationer it is the emotional plane, the Kurukshetra, or the plane of illusion, where land (physical nature) and water (emotional nature) meet.
For the disciple it is the mental plane where form and soul make contact and the great transition becomes possible.
For the advanced disciple and the initiate, the midway spot is the causal body, the karana sarira, the spiritual body of the soul, standing as the intermediary between Spirit and matter, Life and form, the monad and the personality.
A Treatise on White Magic, P 247
4. The Form of the Causal Body. This is the vehicle of the higher consciousness, the temple of the indwelling God, which seems of a beauty so rare and of a stability of so sure a nature that, when the final shattering comes of even that masterpiece of many lives, bitter indeed is the cup to drink, and unutterably bereft seems the unit of consciousness. Conscious then only of the innate Divine Spirit, conscious only of the Truth of the Godhead, realizing profoundly and to the depths of his being the ephemeral nature of the form and of all forms, standing alone in the vortex of initiatory rites, bereft of all on which he may have leant (be it friend, Master, doctrine or environment), well may the Initiate cry out: "I am that I am, and there is naught else." Well may he then figuratively place his hand in that of his Father in Heaven, and hold the other out in blessing on the world of men, for only the hands that have let slip all within the three worlds are free to carry the ultimate blessing to struggling humanity. Then he builds for himself a form such as he desires, - a new form that is no longer subject to shattering, but suffices for his need, to be discarded or used as occasion warrants.
A Treatise on White Magic, P 264
Causal Body or Egoic Body
These two bodies are essentially the same thing called by two different terms. To confuse the issue further it is also called the Karana-Sarira. This latter phrase comes from the Sanskrit. "Karana" means "cause" and "Sarira" refers to body or bodily frame.It is also called the Causal Body because it makes possible for the human being to initiate causes.
Finally it is called the Egoic Body because it is the vehicle of expression for our ego. This is not the illusionary, selfish ego as indicated in some teachings, but the highest part of our individuality, which eternally survives.
It's body is the twelve petalled lotus, the higher reflection of the heart center which is in the head and links the heart to the soul and the soul to the monad.
Just as the physical body is the vehicle to house and allow life expression, even so is the causal body a vehicle of consciousness itself. This vehicle was given birth to you by your Solar Angel and as it unfolds consciousness grows and soul contact is established.
When contact and expression is fully created the causal body is no longer needed and we break free from the parent Solar Angel and become linked directly to our Monad, or our personal Father in Heaven.
Definition by J J Dewey. Read over 4000 teachings at Freeread.com
Here are some additional references to the Causal Body:
From a study of these terms it will be apparent that within the physical vehicle there is to be found a point of luminosity which (when contacted) will pour the light of the spirit upon the path of the disciple, thus illuminating the way, revealing the solution of all problems, and enabling him to stand as a light bearer to others.
This light is in the nature of an internal radiance, its position is in the head, in the neighborhood of the pineal gland, and it is produced by the activity of the soul.
A good deal of discussion has been aroused, by the term "central organ" associated with this light. Some commentators refer this to the heart, others to the head. Technically neither of them are entirely right, for to the trained adept the "central organ" is the causal vehicle, the karana sarira, the body of the ego, the sheath of the soul. This is the middle of the "three periodical vehicles" which the divine Son of God discovers and utilizes in the course of his long pilgrimage.
The Light of the Soul, Page 292
If the karmic seeds are black, the man will be grossly selfish, material, and inclined to the left hand path; if black-white, they will carry him into a form suitable for the working out of his obligations, of his debts, duties and interests and the fulfilling of his desires; if they are white they tend to build that body which is the final one to be destroyed, the causal body, the temple of Solomon, the karana sarira of the occultist. That body, at the final liberation, is itself destroyed and naught then separates the man from his Father in Heaven, and nothing keeps him linked to the lower material plane.
The Light of the Soul, Pages 393-394
(a.) The Work of the Solar Angels. Let us briefly consider the general construction of the body of the Ego enumerating its component parts and bearing in mind that the form is ever prepared prior to occupancy. From the study of this body, we can get some idea of, and some light upon macrocosmic Individualisation.
The causal body, called sometimes (though inaccurately) the "karana sarira," has its place on the third subplane of the mental plane, the lowest abstract plane, and the one whereon the Ray of the third Logos provides the necessary "light for construction. "
Treatise on Cosmic Fire Page 707
There is the radiant body of the soul itself, found on its own plane, and called, frequently, the Karana Sarira or the causal body.
Treatise on Cosmic Fire Page 105
For the advanced disciple and the initiate, the midway spot is the causal body, the karana sarira, the spiritual body of the soul, standing as the intermediary between Spirit and matter, Life and form, the monad and the personality.
Treatise on Cosmic Fire Page 247
Hence it is the mind principle in humanity which brings into manifestation the egoic body, the causal vehicle, the karana sarira, the twelve-petalled lotus. We are of course talking entirely in terms of the form aspect here. The reason for this lies back on the cosmic planes, whereon the planetary Logos has His life.
Treatise on White Magic Page 362
(a.) The Work of the Solar Angels. Let us briefly consider the general construction of the body of the Ego enumerating its component parts and bearing in mind that the form is ever prepared prior to occupancy. From the study of this body, we can get some idea of, and some light upon macrocosmic Individualisation.
The human Ego is neither Atman nor Buddhi, but the higher Manas: the intellectual fruition and the efflorescence of the intellectual self-conscious Egotism -- in the higher spiritual sense. The ancient works refer to it as Karana Sarira on the plane of Sutratma, which is the golden thread on which, like beads, the various personalities of this higher Ego are strung. If the reader were told, as in the semi-esoteric allegories, that these Beings were returning Nirvanees, from preceding Maha-Manvantaras -- ages of incalculable duration which have rolled away in the Eternity, a still more incalculable time ago -- he would hardly understand the text correctly; while some Vedantins might say: "This is not so; the Nirvanee can never return"; which is true during the Manvantara he belongs to, and erroneous where Eternity is concerned. For it is said in the Sacred Slokas:
Secret Doctrine Vol 2 Pages 79-80
By life upon the physical plane (that life wherein the physical permanent atom has its full demonstration) the matter is arranged and separated that must eventually be built into the Temple of Solomon, the egoic body, through the agency of the egoic life, the second aspect. In the quarry of the personal life are the stones prepared for the great Temple. In existence upon the physical plane and in the objective personal life is that experience gained which demonstrates as faculty in the Ego.
A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, P 72
On the fourth subplane of the mental plane, man begins to control his causal or egoic body, and to polarize his consciousness therein until the polarization is complete. He functions then consciously on it when he has mastered the correspondences to the ethers on the mental plane.
A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, P 120
The egoic triangles are dependent largely upon the reflection in the personality of the spiritual life force. They are the midway point, just as the causal or egoic body is the transmitting point (when sufficiently equipped and built) between the higher and the lower.
A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, P 178
Finally, that the Son, therefore, is the middle manifestation, and is produced by that which is above, and that which is below, in the occult sense. Therefore, the Son on His own plane (the cosmic mental plane), is the egoic body of the Logos in the same sense as the egoic body of the microcosm is the product of the union of the Monad, or Spirit, and matter. Just as the body egoic of man (that which is called the causal body) is only in process of formation, and is not yet perfected, so we may predicate the same of the solar system, as it expresses the Life of God.
A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, P 227
In studying the egoic body it should be remembered that the causal body is the correspondence in the monadic manifestation to the heart center.
A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, P 537
If we have carefully followed the data given about the egoic manifestation on its own plane, and the fires of the causal body, we shall have noted the close resemblance between that egoic body, viewed as a force center, and certain aspects of logoic manifestation.
A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, P 544
In the third chain, the moon chain, we have an interesting related fact. On the moon chain the point of attainment for the individual was the arhat or fourth Initiation, - the initiation which marks the final breaking with the three worlds, and the disintegration of the egoic body.
A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, P 581
The occult Hierarchy is concerned with the unfoldment of the nine-petalled Lotus in the Heavenly Man, and in man (the former through reflex action between the cosmic physical and the cosmic mental), while the great deva Hierarchy is concerned with the permanent atoms, with the egoic body, and with the development of the spirillae. Thus the function of the Agnichaitans of the lowest furnaces - macrocosmically and microcosmically - will be seen and comprehended by the wise student.
A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, P 643
The work of the Agnishvattas (the self-conscious principles, the Builders or constructors of the egoic body on the higher mental levels) is to unite the higher three principles - atma, buddhi, manas - and the lower three, and thus become in very truth the middle principle in man.
A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, P 680
Man has to learn to control, guide and use the deva substances of which his lower sheaths are made; this goal involves the development of full self-consciousness, which is brought about through the agency of the solar Angels or builders and vitalizers of the egoic body; they are those through whom self-consciousness becomes a fact.
A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, P 688
On extra-systemic or cosmic levels, the individualization process produces a corresponding activity in the egoic body of the Logos, and hence increased vibration in that center in the body of the ONE ABOUT WHOM NOUGHT MAY BE SAID, which our Logos represents.
A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, P 718
The physical permanent atom absorbs the entire life force of the physical body, and its inherent heat and light is thereby increased until at the fourth initiation the seven spirillae are fully vitalized, and vibrant. The internal heat of the atom, plus the external heat of the egoic body wherein it has its place, produces then that which destroys the permanent atom. Temporarily, and just prior to destruction, it becomes a tiny sevenfold sun owing to the radiation and activity of the spirillae.
A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, P 741
At the early stages after individualization, the egoic body has the appearance of a bud. The electric fire at the center is not apparent, and all the nine petals are closed down upon the inner three; the orange color has a dead aspect and the three points of light at the base are just points and nothing more; the triangle which is later seen connecting the points is not demonstrated.
A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, P 763
Building into the causal body that which is required for its completion.
In the early stages this work is comparatively small but as the third stage of development is reached, and the man is demonstrating character and ability, their work is rapidly increased, and they are kept fully occupied in the work of perfecting the egoic body, in expanding the egoic consciousness, if metaphysical terms are preferred.
A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, P 776
Before the final liberation but after the major part of the purificatory and aligning processes are complete, the vehicles of the initiate present a wonderful appearance, due to the streams of energy from the egoic body which can reach him.
A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, P 1121
Between the triple energy of the spinal column and the alta major center, there is a hiatus, just as there exists that which must be bridged between the triple lower man and the egoic body, or between the mental unit on the fourth subplane of the mental plane and the solar Angel on the third subplane. Though we are told that the permanent atomic triad is enclosed in the causal periphery, nevertheless, from the standpoint of consciousness there is that which must be bridged.
A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, P 1159
I would remind you also that from the angle of the fourth initiation even the egoic vehicle, the soul body, is regarded and treated as a part of the form nature.
Esoteric Healing, P 689
...at the third initiation one of these Kumaras transmits to the causal body of the initiate that energy which destroys third subplane matter, and thus brings about part of the destruction of the vehicle; at the fourth initiation another Buddha transmits second plane force, and at the fifth, first subplane force is similarly passed into the remaining atoms of the causal vehicle, producing the final liberation. The work done by the second Kumara, with second subplane force, is in this solar system the most important in connection with the egoic body, and produces its complete dissipation, whereas the final application causes the atoms themselves (which formed that body) to disperse.
Initiation, Human and Solar, P 108
Upon the Causal or Egoic Body
It is only possible to touch very briefly upon the effect of the application of the Rod to the causal body of the initiate.
[...]
Through the application of the Rod of Initiation, the work of separating the spiritual self from the higher self is furthered, and the imprisoned life gradually escapes, whilst the causal body is slowly absorbed or dissipated.
This has led to the expression, sometimes used in occult books, of "the cracking of the causal body" at each initiation, and to the idea of the inner central fire gradually breaking through and destroying the confining walls, and also of the destruction of the Temple of Solomon through the withdrawal of the Shekinah. All these phrases are symbolic wordings, and are attempts to convey to the mind of man fundamental truth from different angles.
Initiation, Human and Solar, P 136
It is interesting to note that just as the Monad, impelled by desire, produces that form of life which we call the personality, so the mind aspect, as part of the purpose working out through the Universal Mind, in its turn produces that manifestation which we call a Manasaputra, the great Son of Mind on the mental plane. Hence it is the mind principle in humanity which brings into manifestation the egoic body, the causal vehicle, the karana sarira, the twelve-petalled lotus.
A Treatise on White Magic, P 361
When this has happened, the disciple has built the bridge (the antahkarana) which links:
- The spiritual triad.
- The causal body.
- The personality.
When this is done the egoic body has served its purpose, the solar Angel has done its work, and the form side of existence is no longer needed, as we understand and utilize it, as a medium of experience. The man enters into the consciousness of the Monad, the ONE. The causal body [388] disintegrates; the personality fades out, and illusion is ended. This is the consummation of the Great Work, and another Son of God has entered into the Father's home.A Treatise on White Magic, P 387
When the alignment is fourfold and when the three above mentioned bodies are aligned with the body of the Higher Self, the causal or egoic body, and held steady within its circumference, then the great leaders of the race, - those who emotionally and intellectually sway mankind, - can be seen working; then the inspirational writers and dreamers can bring down their inspirations and dreams; and then the synthetic and abstract thinkers can transfer their conceptions to the world of form.
Letters on Occult Meditation, P 1
We have up till now considered first the importance of meditation; then we touched briefly upon the part the egoic ray plays in deciding upon that method, incidentally bringing out a point not much emphasized hitherto that the real goal of meditation is the gradual fracturing, breaking and shattering of the egoic body.
[...]
Karma and time are more synonymous terms than is oft realized. Occult meditation and the definite commencement of the work of liberating the individual from the periphery of the causal body can only be begun when a certain point in evolution has been attained, and when (through its content) the causal body is of a certain specific gravity, and when the circumference of that body measures up to certain requirements.
Letters on Occult Meditation, P 22
In the microcosm, man, this duality becomes a triple modification upon the mental plane, and in these three we have in miniature a picture of the macrocosmic manifestation. These three are:
- The mental permanent atom, the lowest aspect of the spiritual Triad or of the soul,
- The egoic body, the causal body, or the karana sarira,
- The mental body, the highest aspect of the lower personal self.
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali , P 14...the seven principles with which man is concerned are:
But to build the antahkarana is to relate the three divine aspects. This involves intense mental activity; it necessitates the power to imagine and to visualize, plus a dramatic attempt to build the Lighted Way in mental substance. This mental substance is - as we have seen - of three qualities or natures, and the bridge of living light is a composite creation, having in it:
- Force, focused and projected from the fused and blended forces of the personality.
- Energy, drawn from the egoic body by, a conscious effort.
- Energy, abstracted from the Spiritual Triad.
The Rays and the Initiations, P 457This brings to the forefront of his consciousness the sudden and appalling recognition that the soul itself, the egoic body on its own level, and that which for ages has been the supposed source of his existence and his guide and mentor, is no longer needed; his relation, as a soul-infused personality, is now directly with the Monad. He feels bereft and is apt to cry out - as did the Master Jesus - "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?"
The Rays and the Initiations, P 695
Just as in the human atom, the spiral activity is egoic and controlled from the egoic body, so in connection with the solar system these three groups are related to the Logoic Spiritual Triad - atma-buddhi-manas - and their influence is dominant in connection with solar incarnation, with solar evolution and with solar progress." (C.F. 1058)
Esoteric Astrology, P 639
The ray of the ego varies from round to round, and, in more evolved souls, from race to race, and comprises one of the five rays of our present evolution. It is the predominating ray to which a man's causal body vibrates.
A Treatise on White Magic, P 111
You ask for a clearer definition of the midway spot.
- For the probationer it is the emotional plane, the Kurukshetra, or the plane of illusion, where land (physical nature) and water (emotional nature) meet.
- For the disciple it is the mental plane where form and soul make contact and the great transition becomes possible.
- For the advanced disciple and the initiate, the midway spot is the causal body, the karana sarira, the spiritual body of the soul, standing as the intermediary between Spirit and matter, Life and form, the monad and the personality.
A Treatise on White Magic, P 2474. The Form of the Causal Body. This is the vehicle of the higher consciousness, the temple of the indwelling God, which seems of a beauty so rare and of a stability of so sure a nature that, when the final shattering comes of even that masterpiece of many lives, bitter indeed is the cup to drink, and unutterably bereft seems the unit of consciousness. Conscious then only of the innate Divine Spirit, conscious only of the Truth of the Godhead, realizing profoundly and to the depths of his being the ephemeral nature of the form and of all forms, standing alone in the vortex of initiatory rites, bereft of all on which he may have leant (be it friend, Master, doctrine or environment), well may the Initiate cry out: "I am that I am, and there is naught else." Well may he then figuratively place his hand in that of his Father in Heaven, and hold the other out in blessing on the world of men, for only the hands that have let slip all within the three worlds are free to carry the ultimate blessing to struggling humanity. Then he builds for himself a form such as he desires, - a new form that is no longer subject to shattering, but suffices for his need, to be discarded or used as occasion warrants.
A Treatise on White Magic, P 264